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submitted 3 months ago by fpslem@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

The law enforcement officer spent months methodically gathering evidence. He leafed through thousands of pages and highlighted key passages amid reams and reams of paper. He wore his body camera to record his interactions with witnesses and suspects. And he photographed what he saw as instruments of the alleged crime:

Books.

The targets of the investigation? Three school librarians in Granbury, Texas. The allegation? They had allowed children to access literature — such as “The Bluest Eye,” by Toni Morrison — that the officer, Scott London, a chief deputy constable, had deemed obscene.

In an extraordinary look into the ramifications of the right-wing backlash against books dealing with racism, gender, sex and sexuality, an 824-page investigative file obtained by NBC News and NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth shows how, for two years, London vigorously pursued felony charges against librarians in the Granbury Independent School District.

London secured subpoenas, filed public records requests, received names of students who’d checked out certain books and, after a year, wrote draft criminal complaints.

Those charges — distributing harmful material to a minor — were never filed. The investigation came to an end in June after Hood County District Attorney Ryan Sinclair turned down London’s request to indict the librarians, citing a lack of conclusive evidence to charge them with felonies.Sinclair declined to be interviewed and did not respond to written questions. London, who has ties to the anti-government constitutional sheriff’s movement and tried to launch a local chapter of the far-right Oath Keepers militia in 2020, did not respond to questions.

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[-] mozz@mbin.grits.dev 16 points 3 months ago

They’re gonna keep throwing this shit at the wall until something sticks

Somehow, some way, they’re going to start being able to put “woke” educators (I.e. the ones that won’t explicitly give support to their side of the culture war) in prison, if they’re allowed to keep pushing with this.

[-] Kyrgizion@lemmy.world 7 points 3 months ago

Depending on the court's reaction, you might already be there. Let's hope some kind of common sense prevails and all these charges are tossed and the cop reprimanded.

Ah well, a guy can dream.

this post was submitted on 24 Jul 2024
222 points (100.0% liked)

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